Internal combustion engine



Oct. 18, 1938. w, BAILEY 2,133,842

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed May 5, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Figl. I I! Inventor: .Riqhard W. Bailey,

H H i yAttorneg.

o 18, 1933- R. w. BAILEY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed May 3, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' I I %///////m V Invent; or-

m w @wm W .7 O d ra a Oct. 18, 1938. R, w BAILEY 2,133,842

INTERNAL comsusnon ENGINE "Filed MayIS, 1957 SShets-Sheet :5

w I 40 4/ 30 g )3 ////I/////////////// Inventor: Richard W. Bailey,

H is Attorney.

Patented 011.18 .1938 D 1 2,133,842

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Richard William Bailey, Hale, England. assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation oi New York Application May '3, 1937, Serial No. 140,559 In Great Britain May 7, 1936 4 Claims. (CL- 123-51) This invention relates to power plants inor cap which is heat insulated to an appreciable cluding internal combustion engines operating degree from the body of the piston. as combustion components and operable to con- In the case of a two stroke engine having inlet vert part of the heat energy released by the comports in the cylinder 'wall the piston head may 5 bustion of fuel within it into mechanical energy. be somewhat tapered or-formed so as to deflect More particularly the invention relates to 'suthe comin a r a a y along the Cylinderpercharged combustion components of the piston In order that the invention may be clearly type, having spark or compression ignition, emunderstood reference will now be made to the ployed in a combustion product power plantof' accompanying drawings which show by way of ame kind in which the combustion component perexample three embodiments of the invention as forms only a relatively small amount, if any, of applied to compression ignition combustion units external work but delivers the products of comhaving opposed pistons and in which:- bustion to an engine performing external work. Figure 1 is a longitudinal section (the pistons With such engines relatively high temperature and valves being in elevation) of a two-stroke may be attained in the combustion component cycle combustion unithaving le p s in e 15 and whilst the customary method of waterjacketcylinder bore and exhaust valves in the wall of ing the cylinder head limits the temperature of the combustion space at the center.

the head it does so at the expense of the energy Figure 2 is a cross-section taken laterally on contained in the combustion products. the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 130 According to the present invention a super- Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a fourcharged combustion component of the piston stroke unit having both inlet and exhaust valves type for use in a combustion product plant is prolocated in the wall of a central combustion space. vided with ductwork or passageways in the cyl- 4 is a section On the li e O inder head or around the combustion space 'as Fig. 5 is a section on t e e of the case may be through which the compressed Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the 25 air is passed so as to exert a cooling effect, said center of a two-stroke unit along lines 6-6 of air being thereafter passed to the cylinder. Fig. 7 in which the inlet valve is constituted by If there is an exhaust valve in the head the air a port. in the one cylinder barrel and the exhaust is preferably first passed around the region of valve by a port in the other cylinder barrel, the valve seat in order to improve the cooling whilst I 30 of this valve. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

The invention may be applied to cylinders Referring first of all to Figs. 1 and 2, the referwith pistons working opposed in which case the ences I, l' indicate a pair of cylinders arranged air is passed around the wall of the combustion in alignment with water cooling spaces 2, 2', chamber located between the cylinders. In some in the respective cylinder walls. 3, 3 are the 35 cases this chamber may be extended in a direspective pistons, which pistons are formed with rection laterally of the cylinder axis. detachable heads 4,' 4'. As shown the piston In the case of a cylinder with a single piston v heads 4, 4' are separatedfrom each other by a there will be ducts in the head-end of the cylinrelatively small clearance in their extreme in- 40 der which will, of course, constitute the comward position and the combustion space is prin- 40 bustion chamber. 'cipally constituted by a. space 5 extending lat- With arrangements according to the invention erally from the -p t of e cy er assemthe heat transmitted to thecombustion chamber Mushroom or poppet type. exhaust Valves wall is returned to the motive fluid B are located in the opposite walls of the comveniently, screens constituted by plates of heat 5 22 gggi f g jfi i ggfiz g :2:

fi z igz g z gg' 5 zlg gsg gg t figf zfi in a direction parallel to the axis of the cylinders. 2 23 extend over the surface thereof Water The inlet valves are constituted by ports 1' in the c linder walls, which rts are uncovered jacketing of the cylinder side wall will still usualy p0 1? be necessary An important part P heat in their extreme outward positions. The comwhich passes to the cylinder wallwill however bustion space is Surrounded by a wall 8, the reach t y W y Of the Piston and e heat tion lying immediately between the inner ends transmission through the piston may be miniof-the cylinder walls I, I is surrounded by a 5 mized by forming the piston with a separate head cylindrical wall 8a, whilst a portion extends latby the pistons 3, 3' respectively when these are 50 erally, to the wall 811 to surround the lateral combustion space 5 which is of a substantial rectangular cross-section. Apertures are formed in the opposite sides of the wall portion 8b surrounding the combustion space 5, and these apertures house the ends of the castings 9, 9' constituting valve chambers for the valves 6, 6'.

The incoming air from the compressor or supercharger is admitted through an inlet duct l0 whence it passes around the wall 6 of the combustion chamber so as to cool it. On reaching the opposite side (i. e. top side in the drawing) of the combustion space, the air passes into the forked duct II where it divides, part of it passing to the left (Fig. 1) through an opening 12 in the plate l3, whence it passes through a duct l4 to a manifold I5 surrounding the inlet ports 1. The remainder of the air passes to the right through the opening I2 in the plate l3 and then through the duct M to the manifold l5 surrounding the inlet ports 1' in the right hand cylinder. It will be observed that the plates II are located in lateral planes and are in contact with the inner edges of the cylinder walls.

In constructing the unit the plates I I may form the main supporting members and the cylinders may be held together in any convenient manner as for example by means of bolts passing throughbosses on the outer cylinder surfaces, this part of the construction being omitted in the drawings.

The exhaust gases flow from the combustion space 5 out through the exhaust valves 6, 6 into the exhaust pipes I6, l6.

The combustion chamber wall 8 is conveniently provided with ribs or fins, l1 around its external surface. The outer edges of these ribs are surrounded by a casing l8 extending in a longitudinal direction between the plates |3|3' and closing the channels between the fins so as to form a series of cooling passages. On'the upper side (Fig. 1) of the combustion space these cooling passages open into the forked duct II which may be made integral with the casing l8. The combustion chamber wall 8 is shown as made up in a composite welded construction in which case the fins l1 may be welded to the outer'surface. Alternatively the wall 8 might of course be cast. In such a case however it may be desirable to divide it vertically into two sections for convenience in moulding. The wall 6 is lined with suitable heat resistant material -I9, whilst similar heat resistant linings 26 surround the inlet ports. Such lining may be for instance of a suitable heat resistant steel or alloy and the surface of the lining which contacts with the wall 6 may conveniently be grooved or recessed to reduce the contact area and so the heat conduction.

As above stated the piston heads 4, 4' are made detachable from their respective pistons 3, 3, and conveniently some form of thermal insulation, such as stacks of steel plates 2| the surface of which may be oxidized, are interposed between the piston 3 and the head 4 and between the piston 3 and the head 44'. The piston heads may be formed of suitable heat resisting metal and may be secured to the piston proper by any suitable means such as, for example, by a bolt passing through the piston, as shown in Fig; 1. The piston heads 4 are shown of a reduced crosssection and this is for the purpose of deflecting the air axially as it enters the cylinder through the inlet ports. The ducts l4 and [4' are preferably provided with suitable expansion joints 22 and 22' respectively so as to provide for thermal expansion.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, which shows the application of the invention to a four-stroke unit, it will be observed that the peripheries of the fins I1 around the left side of the combustion chamber wall (Fig. 3) are covered by plates 23, 24, whilst those on the right side are covered by similar plates 23', 24'; these plates as can be seen from reference to Fig. 4 extend around the fins except at the top end of the cooling passages (i. e. for the position'shown in the drawi'ng) .at which point the passages between the iins are all in communication with each other. The incoming air is admitted through a duct 26 which communicates only with the left hand cooling passages, i. e. those under the plates 23 and 24, up which the air passes to the space 25 where it passes over and then downwardly through the right hand cooling passages, i. e. those under the plates 23 and 24 to the curved duct 21, whence it is admitted by the inlet valve 28 to the combustion space 5. The valve 29 in the opposite wall-of the combustion space acts as the exhaust valve.

The plates 23 and 23 are separated as are also the plates 24 and 24' to avoid strains under high temperatures.

As in the previous arrangement the combustion chamber wall 6 may be of a composite welded construction or may be cast, and in the drawing the left hand side (Fig. 3) is shown as a casting whilst the right hand side is shown as a composite welded structure. The heat resistant lining i9 is again employed. Casings 30 and 3i respectively form the inlet valve chamber and the exhaust valve chamber, the casing 30 being connected to and thereby forming a part of the exhaust duct 21. The space 25 is sealed by means of a plate 32 joining the top edges of the plates II, II' and also by means of plates 33 and 34 joining the side edges as shown in Fig. 4.

In the construction shown cuts 35, 35 are formed along the top and side edges of the plates ll, ll, these are for the purpose of avoiding strain when the center portion of the unit expands longitudinally under the high temperatures employed. 'A fuel injection valve is indicated at 36.

It will be observed that the throat portion t (Fig. 4) of the combustion space 5 where this communicates with the cylinders is somewhat tangential so as to promote a swirl of air therein. Additional deflectors 55 are provided to aid this swirling action.

In Figs. 6 and? which show an embodiment of the invention as applied to a two-stroke unit, the port 31 constitutes an inlet valve and the port 38 an exhaust valve. It will be observed that the combustion space lies wholly between the cylinders and is not extended laterally as in the previous arrangements.

In this arrangement the cylinder casings I, I are separated by a composite member comprising a cylindrical wall 39, provided with spaced fins l1, extending between rectangular plates 40 and 4|. Plates are attached to the four edges of the plates 40 and 4| to form an enclosure surrounding the. cylindrical wall 39. A plate 42 carrying the exhaust pipe 43 and having formed in it an inlet duct' 44 is attached to the top edges of the plates 46, 4 l A similar plate 45 extends along the lower edges, and plates 46 and 41 extend along the side edges of plates 40, 4|. The cylindrical casing 39 forms the wall of the combustion chamber and as in previous arrangements is provided with a lining of heat resistant material l9, whilst heat resistant material 20 is again provided around the inlet and exhaust ports 31 and 38. The fins I! are surrounded by a thin plate casing 48 whereby cooling passages are formed which are connected to the inlet duct 44 by a connection 49 and to an outlet duct 50 in the same plate 42 by aduct 53, and thereby confine the circulating air to the relatively narrow passagesintermediately surrounding the cylindrical wall 39.

It will be seen that the plates 42, 45, 46 and 41 provide an additional seal for the cooling passages. The inlet duct 43 is suitably shaped and communicates with a manifold (not shown) surrounding the inlet ports 31 of which there will usually be several. The unit is clamped together by means of bolts passing through bosses 52, 52 formed around the outside of the respective cylinder casings I, I.

What I claim .as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A combustion component including a pair of substantially alined cylinders, pistons therein, a combustion chamber between said cylinders extending laterally of the cylinder axis, valves in opposite walls of said chamber, cooling passages surrounding said combustion chamber, and inlet ports opening into said cylinders from said passages whereby heat absorbed from the cylinder head is returned to the cylinders. I

2. A combustion component comprising a pair of cylinders, a combustion chamber between said cylinders and extending laterally of the axis of said cylinders, passages surrounding said combustion chamber between said cylinders and the laterally extended portion thereof, and inlet ports connecting said passages to said cylinders, whereby air conducted through said passages returns absorbed heat to said cylinders.

3. A combustion component including a pair of alined cylinders and a pair of opposed pistons therein, a combustion chamber between said cylinders, exhaust valves located in said chamber} and inlet ports in each of said cylinders arranged to be opened when the pistons are in their ex treme outward positions.

4. A combustion component comprising a pair of cylinders axially alined and pistons therein arranged opposite each other, a combustion chamber between said cylinders and extending laterally of the axis of said cylinders, and poppet type exhaust valves located in opposite wallsof said laterally extending combustion chamber arranged to move in directions substantially parallel to the axis of said cylinders.

RICHARD WILLIAM BAILEY. I 

